The 56 minute documentary Unlocking the Heart of Adoption
bridges the gap between birth and adoptive families through diverse personal
stories of adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents in same race and
transracial adoptions interwoven with the filmmaker's story as a birthmother
revealing the enormous complexities in their lives with fascinating
historical background.

"Unlocking the Heart of Adoption gives the viewer an
intimate understanding of adoption as a lifelong process and its impact on all members of
the adoption triad. A wonderful teaching documentary recommended for individual and
group viewing or discussion group."Richard Fischer, Editor, Adoption TodayRead full review

"Thank you for creating such a masterpiece - Unlocking the Heart of
Adoption. I want to share my gratitude for having the privilege to view
your work at a time when I needed some validation and normalcy for my
adoptive parenting journey. Because of your movie, I was able to
process some feelings that had not been resolved. Particularly when Jody made comments about
how her love for her adoptive mother grew as she was able to go down the
road of inquiry and discovery of her adoption together. As an adoptive
mother, I am always working on myself at being present, in the here and
now, with my son as he discovers more about himself and processes his
thoughts and feelings about adoption in his life, in our life together
as a loving family. I highly recommend your film to all those
connected with the adoption process."
Elizabeth Arkin, MA, Life Coach

"I
found the film to be so compelling and well done, as well as a fantastic training tool for
our families. I had been looking for something that touched on all 3 parts of the triad
which would be also relevant for our foster families, as well as something that brought to
light the issues of transracial adoption. I believe that the film has a lot to offer our
families, so I am asking our Executive Director to purchase the film for training!"Jill RosenbergAdoption Program CoordinatorInner Circle Foster Care and Adoption Services

"I
work for a public television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yesterday we aired
Sheila's film and the success and positive feedback was phenomenal! We received TONS
of calls from viewers during the program who commented and asked questions of our panel of
2 different adoption agencies. One viewer even recognized one of the panelists as the
woman who reunited her with her birth child and called in to thank her.It was extremely touching. Sheila is an amazing woman and I want to express my
gratitude to her for her work on the film." Kim
Brummel
WGVU
Underwriting

"My
husband and I stumbled upon the film last night and sat riveted for its entirety. We have
3 internationally adopted children who were 4, 5 and 12 years old when we adopted them.
Finding their birth mothers will be next to impossible, but your film gave us the desire
to try again. Every once in a while we will see glimpses of their pain, from a void that
we can never fill. We used to believe that our love would overcome all, but in recent
years we've come to understand that we can love them deeply, but their sense of identity
is so intricately woven from the womb. Thank you for helping all of us dealing with
adoption issues to have better understanding and not feel so alone."
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